(S04E21) This week the NCIS team managed to put the viewer in the same position as Jenny. Unfortunately, that's not a good thing. When she opened up that cargo container and realized that she had been taken for a ride, I was right there with her, because the viewers had been on a ride of their own.Now, I get how the formula works. NCIS is a mostly stand alone show, with serial elements. And I'm perfectly fine with that. I've been waiting anxiously for the last half of the season to get some answers about Tony/Jeanne and Le Grenouille, and that's fine. I enjoy the stand alone episodes while we wait. This week though, I would describe as a stand alone serial episode. What I mean is that while they were playing with the ongoing storylines, in the end it amounted to nothing. With the possible exception of knowing that Tony had dinner with Jeanne's mother, this episode could be left off the DVD and the story wouldn't miss a beat.
And there is the rub. Feel free to make all the crazy stand alone episodes you want. But if you are going to hit on these stories, make it mean something. Because of that, I would call this the worst episode of the season. So much of it amounted to nothing more than a tease. How many references did we have to Jenny's past with Le Grenouille? She mentioned it a couple times, and just in case you missed it, there was a whole scene where Fornell (Joe Spano) and Gibbs drove it home one last time. All it served to do was point out to the viewer the fact that we aren't actually being told anything. Jenny is obsessed with Le Grenouille. Yeah, we got that a while ago. Why?
The dinner with Jeanne (Scottie Thompson) and her mother, Helen (Sara Botsford), was much the same. There was so much that could have come from her questioning of Tony, instead of the sleeping with my daughter bit. It did play into the Jeanne/Le Grenouille theory, which is something I guess. Could he be the ex-husband that Helen was talking about? Is he Jeanne's father? The fact that Jeanne said she had just seen him is a point against that theory, because you would think that is just the kind of information Tony would be trying to get, and he didn't seem to react to the news, but the possibility is still out there.
It wasn't all bad. I did like that they brought Trent Kort (David Dayan Fisher) back. He is an interesting character. It's too bad that he didn't get a little more to do but it sets things up for his return when they actually do tell this story. It was also fun to see another of Michael Weatherly's Dark Angel castmates on the show. You may remember J.C. MacKenzie as Normal on that show. I really liked him on Murder One as well.
Overall though, just way too much Jenny angst for me, with not enough forward motion on the case. I would have preferred another random murder case that had nothing to do with illegal arms sales to this. All of this might be pointing to Jenny stepping down, or being relieved of duty, at the end of the season. I'd be just fine with that idea. Although, I hope she doesn't end up taking Gibbs down with her. In case you missed it, Bob reported on a story that has Mark Harmon threatening to leave the show over Donald Bellasario's "chaotic management style." I don't think the show would miss a beat with a new Director, but without Gibbs, that's a tough sell.
I'm giving "Brothers in Arms" a 3, out of 7. It just wasn't good. But hey, you do anything 91 times and every once in a while there is going to be a mistake. I'm confidant that the show will bounce right back with another great episode sooner rather than later.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-25-2007 @ 12:31PM
Doug said...
I thought the episode was better then you did, and I didn't think it's over. THe bad guy needs to be nibed.
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4-25-2007 @ 12:48PM
mike m said...
Overall I give this episode a 5 of 7. It kinda reminded me of the old JAG days. Every now and then, things can't go perfectly, and this episode proves that. Jenny loses it and gets caught with her hand in the kitty. That's the point of the episode. Slow build, some good action scenes, and in the end? nothing....
How many times did JAG have the same formula, where, at the end, the bad guy, and sometimes in the case of Harm's father, the good guy, gets away. I recall episodes where Harm was actually suspended or worse, or where Mac was the acting-JAG and drove harm (and the viewers!) mad because of her handling of things. These things are done intentionally....and in the end...DPB always produces the goods when it comes to giving his audience a little something they want.
And lets be fair, I can see the next three episodes ending in a major cliffhanger, and not being resolved until the third episode of the new season....thats how DPB works! and that's what makes his shows so good!
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4-25-2007 @ 1:37PM
megastar_13 said...
Thank god I wasn't the only one bored by Jenny and her angst this week. The combination of not having light shed upon the Le Grenouille plot, as you mentioned, and the fact that she is my least favorite member of the NCIS team. Nothing really against the actress, but the character and the way she's portrayed just doesn't mesh well with the family-within-a-team dynamic. I would not mind in the least if she were to step down as director.
The show without Gibbs though... hard to imagine. The only consoling part of him leaving last season was the knowledge that he WAS coming back.
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4-25-2007 @ 4:16PM
MrC said...
Not directly related to the episode, but I noticed turning the commercial for the NCIS season 3 DVD boxset there was a "fine-print" disclaimer that said something along the lines of:
"Some episodes may be edited from their original broadcast versions"
In this day and age it's unimaginable that they wouldn't have secured DVD rights to the music (especially since NCIS very rarely has "pop" music as opposed to score and Numeriklab stuff for Abbie)
Any idea what they edited?
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4-25-2007 @ 5:27PM
whawha said...
um...Mark Harmon is still alive?
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4-25-2007 @ 5:47PM
Dorv said...
whawha: Thanks for the penetrating analysis and well thought out contribution to the blog.
I've got to agree with most on this episode, in that I just didn't have the buy in to care about Jenny. Maybe its the character (I agree with megastar_13, I like Holly, I don't necessarily think the problem lies with her), or maybe its the fact that, even after two seasons, we don't really know the Director as anything other than an extension, or at the least, an explanation, of Gibbs. Maybe if we knew her better, or perhaps knew and understood her obsession, we would care.
I'm still hooked as to the where the Jeanne/Tony stuff is going. Honestly, it wouldn't even have to connect back to the plot to be interesting to me, just because she has changed him so much, and that is an interesting character study unto itself. However, there IS a big secret as to why they got together, and why he needed permission (absolution??) to fall for her, and who is she that the Director felt that she could give Tony the 'ok.' These questions interest me SOOO much more than the Frog crap, though, Asante did a remarkable job in his last episode, maybe with more screen time, I would find the plot more interesting.
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4-25-2007 @ 6:26PM
innamorata said...
It's LA grenouille. I'm French, I know. ;)
As for the episode? It was bad. We may know what Jenny's goal is, we still have no idea what is her *personal* motivation.
It's not compelling writing imo.
Take The Shield, we know what drives Vic (be it money, revenge, wanting to keep his job) but Jenny? She's obssessed with a guy but aside him being a generic bad guy I have no clue why she's so gung ho about getting him whatever the cost may be.
On the positive side, it certainly looks like Jenny won't stick around after this season. That's a plus.
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4-26-2007 @ 4:02PM
S M S said...
Has anyone considered that Le Grenouille could be Jeanne’s father? Le Grenouille is (French), Jeanne is (French) and a feminized form of a male name; probably named after a very strong male figure. Jenny and Jeanne’s Mother obviously have very bitter feelings for the men/man they were once obsessed with “or still are.”That would make this episode very important and explain who has ordered surveillance on Jeanne and Tony.
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